


Tales From Ravnica: Rise of the Blackwatch

by DeathKorpsArchangel



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Based On a D&D Game, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 16:57:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17881661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathKorpsArchangel/pseuds/DeathKorpsArchangel
Summary: Felix Tetricus is a Paladin who was forced to break his oath and sell his soul to an Archdevil. After five years of hellish servitude, he and his new companions have started a quest that could change everything.





	Tales From Ravnica: Rise of the Blackwatch

Felix returned to the dark cave that he would call home until he was yet again forced to pack up and flee. He carried a bundle of firewood under one arm while the other sat on the pommel of his sword. He dropped the sticks into the shallow pit he had previously dug. The cold had stung his pale skin and the plates of steel he wore certainly did not help.

The cave, despite blocking most of the cruel wind, was still freezing. Winter was at its height and he hoped that he would be given at least a few weeks of respite. He removed his helmet and dropped it haphazardly on the hard ground. His tail curled behind his cloak in an attempt to stay warm. Felix drew his sword and channeled his magic into it. The blade glowed a dark purple and as he touched it to the wood the black magic managed to start a fire.

He soaked in the warmth as he placed his hands directly in the flames, his infernal resistance allowing him to perform such an act. The moment of bliss allowed him to reflect for a moment. He thought of all the lives he had taken, the towns he had destroyed, and the children he had orphaned. He looked back at the last five years and could not believe he had let himself stoop so low.

* * *

_“Give her back to me foul demon! Or by Ioun I swear I will destroy you!” Felix shouted._

_He stood against this Pit Fiend in the decrepit underground temple. His sword was drawn and his holy aura glowed radiantly about him. The monster flew just out of his reach, hovering over Felix’s head in the chamber’s high ceiling. It taunted him with laughter before speaking._

_“First of all,” it started, “I’m an Archdevil you ignorant mortal. Secondly, I have consorted with beings far more powerful than you. So I suggest that you save your bravado for someone more,” it descended until it was nose to nose with Felix, “naive.”_

_“I,” he stuttered, “I do not fear you monster!”_

_The devil returned to the ground. It stood several feet taller than Felix and began pacing in a circle, as if eying its prey._

_“You lie well paladin,” the devil said, “but I can taste the fear, I can smell the anxiety, and I will gladly feast on both.”_

_“Then fight me coward!” Felix shouted before swinging at the devil, his sword imbued with holy fury._

_Before he could strike however, the demon teleported away and he struck nothing but the stone ground. The devil was already behind him and effortlessly backhanded him across the chamber. Felix jumped back to his feet and readied himself. The devil just casually strolled towards him._

_“Now now,” the Pit Fiend said, “none of that.”_

_“What?” Felix asked, panting, “fight me!”_

_“I gain nothing by killing you. But I do have an offer,” the devil said._

_“I will not parlay with such an infernal abomination,” he said defiantly._

_“Really?” it asked, “not even for her?” it raised its left hand and conjured an ethereal orb. Felix could see a screaming human woman trapped inside._

_“Svetlana,” he whispered to himself._

_“Yes, yes,” replied the Pit Fiend, “I have no use for a weak scribe such as her.”_

_It lept towards Felix and landed just in front of him._

_“But a powerful warrior like yourself though,” it continued, “that I could use.”_

_“You want me to serve you?” he asked._

_“Yes.”_

_“And if I do so, you will release her?”_

_“Yes,” it replied, inching ever closer, “but there will be some conditions.”  
“Like what?” he was disgusted that he was even considering this._

_“You serve me. You do as I tell you or she’ll die. You kill who I tell you, or she’ll die. And you renounce your pitiful god or else, she’ll die,” the Pit Fiend said, “and then she can join you in eternal suffering.”_

_Felix was about to answer when the Pit Fiend cut him off._

_“Oh,” it said, “and you can never see her again. Or else she dies.”_

_Those last words struck a chord in him. Would that even be worth it? She would continue to live but without him. Would it just be better for the two of them to suffer together forever? It sounded like some old, romantic tragedy._

_No. No, he would not doom her to suffer at the hands of this monster for the rest of time. He swallowed his pride and buried his dignity before answering the devil._

_“I will do it,” he dropped his sword and shield and fell to his knees, “I will serve you.”_

_“Of course you will,” it replied, “you mortals are so predictable. What is your full name my new servant?”_

_“Felix Tetricus,” he said._

_“Do you pledge yourself to me and all my goals?” it began conjuring a spell and necrotic energy began to envelope Felix from the bottom up._

_“Yes,” the devil’s magic burnt away the holy symbol of Ioun on his chest._

_“Do you renounce whatever ties you have to the mortal world, including the gods you served and the woman you loved?”_

_“Yes,” as the spell continued his armor was slowly turned black as night._

_“Now I just need to take something physical from you,” it said, “in order to finalize the agreement.”_

_The Pit Fiend grabbed each of Felix’s horns and burnt them away. Soon after there was an explosion of dark energy around him and he could feel that every part of his body was immolated in unholy fire. Not even his infernal resistance could dull the sensation. He screamed in pain and fell on all fours, gasping for air._

_“Now rise my herald,” the devil commanded._

_He slowly stood, carefully touching the singed stubs that used to be his horns. His armor gave off a new, dark aura and he could feel his skin crackle with necrotic power. He looked up to his new master and made eye contact._

_“Yes...my Lord,”  he said, “now will you release her?”_

_“Of course,” it replied, “I always uphold my side of a bargain.”_

_It gave a toothy grin and held up the orb that contained Svetlana. It slowly dissipated from his hand and she appeared in front of them, frozen in place._

_Felix approached her, stroking her face with his armored hand._

_“I’m so sorry.”_

_The Pit Fiend waved his hand and with a shroud of dark energy, she vanished._

_“Where have you sent her?” he asked._

_The Pit Fiend conjured a scrying orb and showed him Svetlana in the forest back above ground. She frantically looked around shouting something, presumably his name._

_“She’ll live, just as I promised,” it said, “now take up your weapon, oathbreaker.”_

_That word sent a rush of guilt through him. He had truly fallen. However he quickly cast the feeling aside. Svetlana would live. That was all that mattered. He retrieved his sword and shield and felt that even his blade now glowed with dark magic._

_“What do I call you?” he asked the Pit Fiend._

_“Well I am the former and rightful Archdevil of Avernus, Warlord of the First Layer of Baator, hero of the Blood War, right hand of the Archdevil Zariel,” it replied, “but you can just call me, Bel.”  
_

_“Yes Lord Bel,” he bowed his head._

_Bel towered over him before placing a hand on his shoulder and saying,_

_“This is the beginning of a wonderful relationship, Felix, the Apostate, my Dark Templar.”_

* * *

The fire before him burst forward and turned a black purple. He snapped back to the moment and gazed into the fire as it took the form of his master.

“My Lord,” he begrudgingly said.

“Listen to me my herald. Greatness awaits.”

“I’m listening.”

“My oracles have given me insight,” the flames began to take the shape of the images the Devil described.

“They see a mighty rival, a gentle beast, a skulker in the shadows, and a powerful mage. They tell me of a  band of heroes, the fall of an empire, and the death of a god. At the center of all this,” the flames formed into an image of Felix in battle, “is a Dark Templar,”

“You speak in circles devil,” he answered, kicking dirt towards the fire “tell me what I need to do or leave me be.”

“Ha!” Bel laughed, “straight to the point. Wield the talismen of the gods, take the heart of a dragon, and seize the fortress in the stars. Then a chorus of a million souls will cry your name in hatred and the sky itself will bleed.”

“Enough of your games. You have told me nothing!” Felix shouted.

“Go to the land of guilds and intrigue and you will begin your journey in its heart,” it said as the flames began to recede and dim.

“Wait! You’ve just given more vague platitudes, what do you mean?” he pleaded,  “answer me gods damn it!”

“Ha ha ha, contact me once you have made progress my child,” the devil laughed as the fire continued to fade, “gather your strength, take up your weapons, and _ride_ upon the storms of war, _if_ you are worthy of it, Champion of the Nine Hells.”

The fire quickly sank into the ground and snuffed itself out, leaving Felix alone in the dark cave. The wood had been reduced to ash and only small embers continued to faintly burn.

“Damn it!” he screamed and struck the fireplace with his sword, causing a burst of necrotic energy that briefly illuminated the cave.

He donned his helmet, sheathed his blade, and headed out into the forest. The blizzard raged as fierce as ever but he had a mission and he turned to the nearest village to find his lead. The giant cloak of wolf pelts that he wore would simply have to fight back the cold.

After half an hour of trudging through snow he finally reached a town he had passed by earlier. The sun had nearly set by now and he stood atop a snow covered hill and observed the settlement until he spotted what could only be a tavern. He’d ask around there.

What was he going to ask? Who was he going to ask? Those were not important at the time. He would make it up on the spot. For now, he slid down the hill and approached the town. Hardly anyone was on the street, understandable due to the weather. Those who were outdoors saw Felix and quickly turned away.

He made it to the tavern and, much to his own embarrassment, made a much more flashy entrance than he really desired. As he pushed the door the wind blew fiercely and threw it open, causing it to slam against the wall. On top of this, the weather caused his wolf pelt cloak to dramatically blow with the wind. Finally, the darkness of the evening allowed for his unholy, purple eyes to glow menacingly bright.

The entire tavern, including the musicians, stopped and awkwardly stared at Felix. There was an uneasy silence as he slowly walked forward, each step with his heavy boots causing the floorboards to loudly creak. Eventually the rest of the tavern’s denizens continued their conversation and the music finally picked up again.

Felix pulled up a stool and sat down at the counter. The human barkeep was chatting up one of the patrons while occasionally glancing at the dark knight sitting a few feet to his right. He tried ignoring Felix until he finally gave in and slid over to him.

“Alright what the hell are you?” the barkeep asked.

“I need to ask some questions,” he replied.

“No no no, _what_ are you?” the barkeep reiterated, “I don’t care what you’re here for.”

“My name is Felix friend,” he said, extending his hand, “and you are?”

“How about you lose the helmet, _friend,_ ” he replied, not returning the gesture “you’re scaring my customers.”  
Felix looked around and noticed that many of the tavern’s patrons were indeed leaving while staring at and whispering about him.

“Oh,” he said, “well I’m sorry about that, but with all due respect I feel like you would lose even more customers if I removed the helmet.”

“I wasn’t asking,” the barkeep said while brandishing a flintlock pistol from underneath the countertop.

“Okay then,” he answered, “but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

He removed his helmet and placed it on top of the counter. The barkeep recoiled in horror and aimed his pistol while Felix heard someone behind him scream.

It wasn’t everyday that these folks saw a Tiefling, let alone a Tiefling as pale as the snow, glowing with necrotic energy that emanated from the various cracks that ran through his skin. His demonic purple eyes only made things worse. The tavern customers began running out in droves.

“Guards! Guards!” the barkeep shouted.

Felix reached for his gun but the barkeep fired. Thankfully the bullet ricocheted off his armor and struck a bottle on a shelf behind the counter. He grabbed the pistol and, channeling a small amount of dark energy into his fist, punched the barkeep straight on the jaw. The barkeep was knocked unconscious and hit the ground hard. He hopped over the counter and picked him up by the collar before the door slammed open.

Suddenly another armor clad figure bursted into the tavern. Her pale skin and pitch black, shoulder length hair suggested she was an Aasimar. Judging from the symbol of a dragon on her chest, she was a servant of Bahamut.

“What’s going on here?” she asked.

“I can explain,” Felix replied.

Seeing such a horrific Tiefling holding a gun in one hand and clutching an unconscious man in the other did not exactly help his case.

“I won’t negotiate with a foul hellspawn,” she said, raising her maul that glowed with radiant fury infused with enchanted fire. She then charged towards the counter.

Felix dropped both the gun and the barkeep. He barely managed to open the retractable shield on his left gauntlet and block the massive hammer being brought down on him. The energy from the strike reflected off his shield and destroyed the entire counter. Bits of shrapnel flew about but bounced harmlessly off their respective armors.

He swiftly disengaged and grabbed his helmet off the ground before putting it back on. He lifted his visor, and, though holding his shield in front of him, refused to draw his sword.

“The man was going to shoot me!” he pleaded, “I was defending myself.”

“Save me your lies demon scum!” she charged forward yet again, this time connecting solidly. She struck him in the shoulder, and with another burst of holy and firey magic, caused him to fly off to the left and smash a table. She swung yet again striking him on the chest as he lay on the ground, smashing through the floor and driving him into the dirt.

Before she could strike again two guards came running in.

“Halt!” one of them shouted, “you’re both under arrest.”

Felix got up and attempted to placate them but the female Aasimar charged the pair of guards. Before one could even draw his sword she struck him with an overhead swing that caused him to explode into a smoldering mess. The other attacked her but his sword deflected harmlessly off her armor. Her following attack hit him with so much force he was thrown through a window and was burnt to a crisp.

After seeing her murder those two humans Felix realized this woman could not be reasoned with. He climbed out of the hole he was in and drew his weapon. As she charged him yet again, he deflected her hammer off his shield and riposted with his sword. He gathered as much necrotic energy as he could on the first strike and the burst of dark energy sent her to the ground as he hit her side. As she got up, he ran forward, leaping in the air before thrusting with perfect accuracy at her chest. Once again channeling all the dark power he could muster, he struck her with twice as much force as the first blow. There was another, much larger burst of unholy magic that sundered the floor and sent this woman straight through the front wall of the tavern and tumbling into the town’s streets.

She laid in the dirt street as snow continued to fall around her. Felix ran outside ready to finish this and she rose from the ground, eager to meet his challenge. She was visibly wounded though. Her breastplate had been punctured and the rest of her armor was scorched. She had cuts and bruises all around her face and was coughing up blood. Her legs wobbled as she tried to raise her hammer. Before the battle could resume however, a voice called out.

“Stop!” a goliath shouted, “please, no more fighting.”

The two paladins were confused as they looked at this man. He was a goliath wearing minimal clothing, save for these intricate steel gauntlets on his fists. He was easily more than eight feet tall, with a massive greatsword on his back, yet he was telling them to stop fighting? He was followed by two humans, one in light armor, with minimal steel plates and many leather straps all covered with a black cloak, and another in a well tailored suit of a noble with a large fur cape draped around him.

“What the hell is going on?” asked the roguish human.

The two both replied at the same time.

“She came in and tried to kill me!”

“He’s a demon terrorizing the people!”

“Alright,” the rogue continued, “how about one at a time. You, Aasimar knight lady, what happened?”

“I heard screaming from the tavern,” she replied, “I came over to see what was going on and saw all these people running from the tavern. Then when I came inside, this _monster_ here, had killed the barkeep!”

“He’s not dead!” Felix interrupted, “well probably not dead.”

“Excuse Mr. Demon eyes, one at a time,” the rogue said, “now continue ma’am.

“Then after I tried to destroy him, he fought back and here we are.”

The rogue looked at her and nodded before turning to Felix.

“Mhm, yes I see,” he said, “now Mr. Demon eyes, what do you have to say?”

“Well,” he replied, “I came into the tavern and peacefully sat down. The barkeep told me to take off my helmet and when I did the people panicked and he shot me.”

“Was it because of the evil glowing eyes?” the rogue asked him.

“Well, probably but I just disarmed him and knocked him out. Then this psycho came in and attacked me!”

“Don’t listen to this abomination’s lies!” the woman shouted.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth mister?” the rogue asked.

Felix cast Zone of Truth on himself and confidently answered.

“I’m telling the truth, I swear to you.”

The woman across from him looked frustrated while still breathing heavily.

“That doesn’t dispel the fact that he’s a monster,” she said.

“Hey if I could interject for a moment,” the noble looking one spoke up, pointing down the road to the guards running towards them, “but the guards are here and we should really pick this up somewhere else.”

“Ya man,” the Goliath said, “let’s get outta here.”

The three began running in the direction away from the guards and Felix followed them. He stopped when he noticed that the woman was still standing there, staring down the oncoming guards. He ran back to her and she gave him a piercing stare.

“You killed two of their friends, they’re not going to be very merciful,” he said, “you’re also badly wounded, you can’t fight them all.”

As the guards drew closer a massive wall of fire blocked their path. The two looked towards in the other direction and saw it was the noble who had cast the spell.

“Please,” Felix said, extending his hand.

She knocked it out of the way and limped towards the other three. Felix grabbed her shoulder, and with all the non evil magic he could conjure up, healed her as best as he could. She spun around, hammer at the ready until she realized what he did. She gritted her teeth and gave him a nod before running away from town. Felix followed her and they caught up with the rest of the group. They went off road and headed into the woods.

“I know a place where we could stay,” Felix said, “it’s a cave but it’ll keep out the elements.”

“And it’s not a demonic hole where you’re going to sacrifice us?” asked the rogue.

Felix didn’t even respond and just stared him down. The Goliath came between them, grabbing them by the shoulders and pulling them into a hug.

“Then let us go friends!” the Goliath happily said, “it is quite cold out here and I would like to rest my head.”

The three of them followed Felix while the woman followed from the rear, vigilantly watching the dark paladin.

They finally reached the cave Felix had been residing in earlier. They all entered and sat down deeper in the cave. They gathered around the old fireplace from earlier. The noble reached into a small pouch and somehow pulled out a much larger bundle of sticks which he threw into the fireplace. He shot a small bolt of flames from his fingers and got a fire going. They all warmed themselves around the makeshift hearth, the Goliath, rogue, and sorcerous noble all sitting on one side, while Felix and the woman sat on the other. The woman still chose to keep her distance from him.

“So I think it’s time for introductions,” the rogue said, “I’m Argos,” he pointed to the noble before saying, “this is Oswald, but just call him Oz.”

“And I am Paki!” shouted the Goliath, throwing his hands into the air like a child.

“I’m Felix.”

They all looked towards the woman. She was looking down into the fire, seemingly not paying attention until she raised her head.

“Vigdis,” she quietly said.

“Well it’s nice to meet you folks,” Argos said, “my companions and I are heading overseas pretty soon if you two would like to join us. We got a job from a guild, I’m sure y’all could lend a hand.”

“A guild?” Felix asked, thinking of Bel’s cryptic message from earlier.

“Yeah, the city’s filled with them,” Argos replied, “ten to be exact.”

_The land of guilds._ This must have been the place that Bel had told him of. He couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

“I’m in,” Felix said, “what’s this place called.”

Argos answered, “Ravnica.”

  



End file.
